Chapter 14 - MEGAN CHOSE A SIDE
Megan asked to meet me alone.
I refused.
Then she asked to meet Rebecca.
I agreed to that.
The meeting took place at Rebecca’s office.
I joined by video.
Megan looked completely different from the woman who had left for the mall carrying a designer purse.
No makeup.
Hair tied back.
Hands shaking.
“I lied to the police.”
Rebecca’s expression remained neutral.
“About what?”
“How long we planned to be gone.”
Megan swallowed.
“Mom said from the beginning that we shouldn’t rush.”
I felt my pulse rise.
“She said if Claire called Travis scared enough, he’d finally stop letting her control him.”
I stared at her.
“What did Travis say?”
Megan began crying.
“He told her to stop.”
For one second, something inside me softened.
Then Megan continued.
“But he still stayed.”
There it was.
The difference between objection and courage.
Travis had disagreed with his mother.
Then obeyed her anyway.
Megan opened her phone.
“There’s a voice recording.”
Rebecca leaned forward.
“Why do you have it?”
“Because Mom was yelling in the car.”
“I recorded her because I thought she sounded insane.”
The audio began.
Deborah’s voice filled the office.
“If Claire wants to act like she runs this family, let her handle one afternoon without everybody jumping when she snaps her fingers.”
Harold laughed.
Then Travis spoke.
“What if she actually goes into labor?”
Deborah answered.
“She already is in labor.”
Silence.
My heart stopped.
The recording continued.
Megan’s younger voice asked.
“Then why are we leaving?”
Deborah said.
“Because she needs to learn.”
Rebecca paused the recording.
Nobody moved.
I stared at Megan.
“You knew?”
Tears poured down her face.
“I knew she was in labor.”
“Did Travis?”
Megan closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
The room disappeared around me.
Until that moment, part of me had still wondered whether Travis had genuinely misunderstood the severity.
That possibility died in Rebecca’s office.
He knew I was in labor.
His mother knew I was in labor.
His father knew.
His sister knew.
They did not leave because they thought nothing was happening.
May you like
They left because something was happening.
And Deborah wanted me frightened enough to remember my place.
